A NEW COLLECTION OF CHARLEY CHASE SHORTS IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR THE FIRST TIME ON DVD

Volume One Contains 18 Rare Talking Comedy Shorts From The Golden Age of Hollywood

(Phoenix, AZ) The Sprocket Vault announces its latest DVD release: CHARLEY CHASE AT HAL ROACH: THE TALKIES VOLUME ONE: 1930-31, the first in a series and available exclusively on Amazon. These 18 comedy shorts on a 2-DVD set showcases this great but somewhat neglected comedian during some of his prime film days.

From 1924-1936, Charley Chase made hilarious short comedies for the Hal Roach Studios. He was one of their most popular comedy stars in both the silent and sound eras. His talkie shorts for Hal Roach have never been collected into a comprehensive collection before, and now THE SPROCKET VAULT brings them to the public in a planned multi-volume collection designed to reacquaint comedy fans to his wonderful short films.

Charley Chase was considered the leading man of comedians, a handsome, talented performer with strong comedy credentials on both sides of the camera. He became Hal Roach's number two star in terms of box office, second only to Laurel and Hardy during his stay at Roach. Chase utilized a style that incorporated classic visual comedy blended with more situational and screwball elements, his sound comedies also highlight his musical abilities. Chase was an accomplished singer and dancer as well.

The films in this 1930-31 collection are also complimented by the presence of Charley Chase's then-frequent leading lady, the lovely and vivacious Thelma Todd. She was a beautiful and statuesque blonde with great timing and comedy talent, whose work with Charley Chase and other comedians propelled her to stardom in her own Hal Roach comedy series. Her career as a lead comedienne was tragically cut short by her early death in 1935 at the age of 29.

The Sprocket Vault's new Charley Chase collection utilizes original Hal Roach Studio print materials for its digital masters, and each short on this collection is accompanied by a commentary track from noted film historian and Hal Roach authority Richard M. Roberts, who shines new light on the "Lot of Fun" and the people involved in making these classic comedies in an informative, clever, and entertaining manner.

So somebody got their copy today. I doubt they had time to do more than a quick overview, but glad they're happy.

Apparently we were Amazon's number one mover and shaker DVD release on Friday night, going from number 32,448th in DVD releases to 111 in less than 24 hours. We have already had to order a second run of replicating as we sent the rest of our first run over to Amazon. Keep up the good work folks, this will keep these releases coming.

And you in the Mafiosi let us know when you get your copies, and feel free to put a good word in over at Amazon.

THANK YOU! What a beautiful set! Charley in top form, wonderful, crisp prints, entertaining and informative commentary by RMR. Wow, what a gift to comedy fans. Thank you SO MUCH for releasing this wonderful set. What a treat! We are all truly indebted to you for making this available. Hooray!

John Bengtson wrote:THANK YOU! What a beautiful set! Charley in top form, wonderful, crisp prints, entertaining and informative commentary by RMR. Wow, what a gift to comedy fans. Thank you SO MUCH for releasing this wonderful set. What a treat! We are all truly indebted to you for making this available. Hooray!

You're welcome Mr. Bengston, and thank you for the nice words.

Six five-star reviews on AMAZON so far, and it's back in stock so order away folks!

That nameless Mr. Bigsnot (whose teeth are still gnashing because there is no Blu-ray), has the screaming voices in his head already singing four part harmony over his perceived "density" issues with one of the shorts on the set. Methinks the density issues are Mr. B's problem, in fact, he's just dense........

Wiser heads have already pointed out to this clueless one that he should stop peering so hard through the contrast as to miss the words before him stating the original surviving print materials were in less-than-stellar condition, but he bleats that he feels comfortable stating the bleedin' obvious in any case, it usually seems to elude him, so he must just be tickled as to have noticed it this time.

And Gebert is already trembling with the thought and peering over here as to our reaction, why disappoint him?